Over the past month or so I’ve had the opportunity to try out the Peek email device. This device is billed as the first email only gadget and retails for only $49.95. The best part is that there is no contract to sign. Service is a flat $19.95 a month and you can stop it whenever you’d like.
I have to tell you that I have been thoroughly impressed with this simple, elegant, and useful device.
As you can see from the images below the Peek is slightly shorter than the iPhone and thinner as well.
Setting up the device couldn’t be easier. I simply entered my Gmail account name and password and that was all that I needed to do start receiving emails.
The number of things you can accomplish with the Peek is pretty impressive. Here are some examples:
- Send text messages, just type the 10-digit number in instead of the email address.
- Download all of your contacts from Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or AOL.
- Check the weather by sending an email to weather@getpeek.net with your zip code in the subject line.
- Use Ping.fm to update basically any social network. This would work from any email account, but having this power at your finger tips at all times is great. In case you didn’t know, Ping.fm will assign you a custom email address that you can email with special prefixes to post to various social networks. For example, you can update Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, create a post on your Wordpress blog and many others. For a complete list please visit Ping.fm.
The discussion board for the Peek is awesome and full of energetic users. Here is a link to a constantly updated list of services that can be used from the Peek: http://boards.getpeek.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=465&page=1#Item_0
I believe if you already have a device like the iPhone or a Blackberry, this isn’t for you. The purpose of this device is to strip away the costs and complexity of these other devices. The Peek does the one thing it was meant to do and it does it well, email.
One last thing, the latest Peek device has been introduced and will be available soon, the Peek Pronto. This device will allow you to have unlimited text messages (same as the original), push email support (with Microsoft Exchange), up to 5 email accounts, and the ability to view PDFs and .doc (Microsoft Word) files. This device is currently listed on pre-order at Amazon for $79.95.
